Let the finger-pointing begin

From NBC's Mark MurrayPegged to today's New York Times story that the White House is increasingly focused on passing a health-care legislation without GOP support -- given developments like Chuck Grassley'srecent comments -- Republicans are now accusing Team Obama for abandoning bipartisanship.

Here's what White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel said in the Times: "The Republican leadership has made a strategic decision that defeating President Obama's health care proposal is more important for their political goals than solving the health insurance problems that Americans face every day."

But Republican counter that it's the White House's fault. Here's House Minority Leader John Boehner: "The announcement that Democrats will abandon bipartisanship in order to pass their costly government takeover of health care is nothing new. From day one, the White House has taken a go-it-alone approach on health care."

More from Boehner: "Months ago, Republicans sent the President a letter noting areas of potential common ground on health care reform and requesting a meeting with him to discuss a bipartisan way forward. The Administration rejected our efforts to work together, choosing instead to craft a costly government takeover of health care and to march forward on a partisan basis solely with Democrats in Congress."